In the aftermath of a federal court order temporarily blocking the Marine Corps from taking action against service members seeking religious exemption to the vaccine mandate, the branch, in a guidance released on Sept. 14, quietly rolled back some of its penalties against religious objectors to the vaccine.
But, according to an attorney fighting against the military’s vaccine mandate in another lawsuit, the guidance does the bare minimum in enforcing the court order and does not protect service members from all consequences for refusing the vaccine, such a promotion holds and the denial of opportunities for overseas deployment.
The interim guidance states that, “the Marine Corps will not enforce any order to accept COVID-19 vaccination, administratively separate, or retaliate against Marines in the class for asserting statutory rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”…